Skip to content
PodcastsTV & FilmThe Big Picture

The Big Picture

The Ringer
The Big Picture
Latest episode

979 episodes

  • The Big Picture

    ‘Verity’ Is Trash. But Is It Good Trash? Plus: ‘Digger’ Flopped and Warner Bros. Is No More.

    06/10/2026 | 1h 38 mins.
    Another year, another Colleen Hoover adaptation. How lucky are we? Before diving into the biggest box office success from the weekend, Sean and Amanda react to the news that Mike DeLuca and Pam Abdy will not continue their roles at David Ellison’s Skydance. They look back at their biggest successes and failures, and wonder what the future of Skydance looks like. Then, they briefly discuss ‘Sicario 3’ being greenlit with all of the returning stars, but notably neither Denis Villeneuve or Stefano Sollima. Finally, they cover ‘Verity,’ an adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s erotic thriller, starring Anne Hathaway, Dakota Johnson, and Josh Hartnett. They break down why the original source material sets the movie up for failure, what they want from the erotic thriller genre going forward, and debate whether we have a “Dakota Johnson problem.”

    (0:00) Intro

    (0:50) ‘Digger’ bombs at the box office

    (7:32) Mike DeLuca and Pam Abdy out at Warner Bros.-Paramount, and the future of Skydance

    (38:04) ‘Sicario 3’ a go with Emily Blunt, Benicio Del Toro, and Josh Brolin to return

    (41:09) ‘Verity’

    (1:02:07) SPOILER WARNING

    (1:23:31) Dakota Johnson temperature check

    (1:29:24) The state of erotic thrillers vs. what we want

    (1:32:46) Looking forward to the October slate

    Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins

    Producer: Jack Sanders

    Production Support: Lucas Cavanagh and Remy Hernandez

    This episode is sponsored by State Farm®️. A State Farm agent can help you choose the coverage you need. Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there.®️
    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
  • The Big Picture

    Is ‘Digger’ the Tom Cruise Movie We’ve Been Waiting For? Plus: Our Top 10 Tom Cruise Performances.

    02/10/2026 | 1h 54 mins.
    BANG! BANG! BANG! On today’s show, Sean and Amanda discuss one of their most anticipated movies of the year in Alejandro González Iñárritu’s ‘Digger,’ starring Tom Cruise. They unpack their very complicated feelings and make the case for why you need to see this incredibly divisive movie on the big screen. Later, they look at Iñárritu’s career at large and wonder: Why did Tom Cruise make this movie? Finally, they take an extensive look at where Cruise fits into the Best Actor race at this year’s Academy Awards, and share their 10 favorite performances from his fascinating career.

    (0:00) Intro

    (1:07) ‘Digger’

    (13:05) SPOILER WARNING

    (54:18) Iñárritu’s career at large

    (59:21) Why did Tom Cruise make this movie?

    (1:08:07) The Best Actor race

    (1:23:05) The top 10 Tom Cruise performances

    Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins

    Producer: Jack Sanders

    Production Support: Lucas Cavanagh
    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
  • The Big Picture

    The Baseball Movie Draft

    30/09/2026 | 1h 44 mins.
    Batter up! Sean and Amanda are joined by Chris Ryan and Mallory Rubin to draft some of their favorite movies focused on one of their biggest shared interests: baseball. They break down what makes baseball movies so special, explain the new (and somewhat controversial) categories, and, most importantly, draft.

    (0:00) Intro

    (1:19) Why baseball movies are the best sports movies

    (17:27) The categories and draft order

    (25:11) The Baseball Movie Draft

    (1:29:47) Honorable mentions and draft recap

    Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins

    Guests: Chris Ryan and Mallory Rubin

    Producer: Jack Sanders

    Production Support: Lucas Cavanagh

    Talk to a State Farm agent today to learn how you can choose to bundle and save with the Personal Price Plan®. Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there®.
    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
  • The Big Picture

    Old Movies vs. New Movies: How ‘Avengers: Endgame Encore’ Beat Brad Pitt, Robert Pattinson, and an Awesome Weekend Movie Lineup

    28/09/2026 | 2h 23 mins.
    What does it mean when old movie rereleases make more money than ever at the box office? Sean and Amanda try to answer that question on today’s show by discussing ‘Avengers: Endgame Encore’ outperforming a slew of new releases this weekend, including ‘Heart of the Beast,’ ‘Forgotten Island,’ and ‘Primetime.’ Then, they cover a handful of other recent releases in ‘The Weight,’ ‘The Love Hypothesis,’ and ‘The History of Concrete.’ Finally, Sean is joined by acclaimed documentarian John Wilson to discuss his new film, ‘The History of Concrete,’ and why he finds the current state of the genre to be strange.

    (0:00) Intro

    (1:57) Jon Watts to direct new ‘Star Wars’ film

    (7:13) Sabrina Carpenter, Margaret Qualley join Tom Holland's Fred Astaire biopic

    (10:15) The weekend box office and the old vs. new wave

    (18:28) ‘Avengers: Endgame Encore’

    (34:51) ‘Heart of the Beast’

    (50:38) ‘Forgotten Island’

    (58:28) ‘Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother’

    (1:05:10) ‘The Weight’

    (1:13:07) ‘The Love Hypothesis’

    (1:25:32) ‘The History of Concrete’

    (1:30:45) John Wilson joins the show!

    Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins

    Guest: John Wilson

    Producer: Jack Sanders

    Production Support: Lucas Cavanagh

    Talk to a State Farm agent today to learn how you can choose to bundle and save with the Personal Price Plan®. Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there®.
    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
  • The Big Picture

    ‘Primetime’ Is a Robert Pattinson Transformation and the Nightmare Media Movie of Our Time, With Lance Oppenheim!

    25/09/2026 | 1h 52 mins.
    Why don’t you take a seat and sit back, because on today’s show, Sean and Amanda discuss one of their most anticipated films of the year: ‘Primetime,’ starring Robert Pattinson. Before diving in, they briefly share their overall feelings with the Paramount-Warner Bros. merger looking likely to go through, and preview an exciting weekend at the movies. Then, they break down the new film from Lance Oppenheim and sing its praises by identifying it as one of the most exciting movies of the year. Finally, Oppenheim joins Sean to explore the difficulties of transitioning from documentary to narrative film, how he first discovered Chris Hansen as a kid and found him endlessly fascinating, and shares a handful of films that ultimately inspired Pattinson’s performance.

    (0:00) Intro

    (1:37) Paramount merger feelings and looking forward to an exciting weekend at the movies

    (10:00) ‘Primetime’

    (31:56) SPOILER WARNING

    (53:11) Opening weekend cultural, critical, and box office expectations

    (1:00:33) Amanda’s (very brief) ‘La Bola Negra’ thoughts

    (1:03:00) Lance Oppenheim joins the show!

    Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins

    Guest: Lance Oppenheim

    Producer: Jack Sanders

    Production Support: Lucas Cavanagh

    Talk to a State Farm agent today to learn how you can choose to bundle and save with the Personal Price Plan®. Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there®.
    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
More TV & Film podcasts
About The Big Picture
Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins review the movies you need to see. Plus: Top 5s, Movie Drafts, Oscars analysis, and more. Subscribe to Sean's newsletter, Projections, here.
Podcast website

Listen to The Big Picture, The Rewatchables and many other podcasts from around the world with the radio.net app

Get the free radio.net app

  • Stations and podcasts to bookmark
  • Stream via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth
  • Supports Carplay & Android Auto
  • Many other app features
The Big Picture: Podcasts in Family
  • Podcast Black Girl Songbook
    Black Girl Songbook
    Music